Wednesday, May 11, 2011

April 16, 2011
So, it's 14 days until I go home! :) I'm so excited. I'm ready to get back to familiar things, places, and people. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed, drive my car, hug my parents, listen to a church service in English... There is just so much to look forward to!
But- I am certainly going to miss Peru. Even though the US is my home and that is familiar to me, Peru has become my second home. Things that used to be so strange are now normal, for this time of my life home has been here. It's crazy to think about really.
My mom is a list maker, and I don't mind lists either so I'm going to make a list of things I'll miss about Peru. Since it's clearly very hard to think of EVERYTHING I will miss about Peru I'm going to separate it into the senses: sight, smell, touch, sounds, and taste. I guess that should about cover everything. :)
SIGHT:
-the palm trees, and all trees- those are scarce in kansas...
-the thousands of motocars that are all over the city
-beautiful jungle sunsets and sunrises
-the other SM's who have become like my family

SMELL:
-garlic and onions; they cook EVERYTHING with garlic and onions here :) haha
-yeah... not a lot of good smells in Peru..
unfortunately, there are a lot of unpleasant smells that go along with my Peruvian experience..
-urine...
-poo...
-whistles/"hey baby"'s/kissing noises from men
-rotten cheese
-dead animal
-nasty skin infections/surgery/birth smell
those I will NOT miss.

TOUCH:
-the feel of crunchy clothes right off the clothes line (although i am VERY excited to use a dryer again)
-little grandma kisses on my cheek when i meet old ladies at church or the clinic
-firm handshakes of people when you meet them
-kid hugs

SOUNDS:
-people announcing things over a loud speaker while they drive by on a motocar
-hymns in Spanish with the whole congregation singing
-little kids singing at the top of their lungs at VBS
-roosters crowing in the morning
-horns honking at all hours

TASTE:
-papaya
-maracuya juice and ice cream
-arroz con leche
-cebada
Ok, so as I started writing this blog i realized that it was a much bigger job than I had anticipated at first so I'm going to close by sayint that this is certainly not a complete list. There are many things I will miss- too many to list or to count. Peru has been a life-changing experience for me in so many ways and one list just can't cover it all.